US marine attacks: 4 marines killed, gunman shot dead

By NewsGram Staff Writer

In another grim reminder of the rising terror attacks in USA, a gunman opened fired on two military facilities at Chattanooga, Tennesse.

Four marines were killed in the attack, the US Navy said. The gunman identified as Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, was also shot dead.

"The gunman had numerous weapons and among those 'brutally and brazenly attacked' were members of the armed services," Police chief Fred Fletcher said.

Officials at the news conference said that the shooting began at about 10:45 a.m. at one recruiting center on Lee Highway-inn and ended about 30 minutes later at the facility on Amnicola Highway, where all of the deaths occurred.

Photographs of the Amnicola facility showed the windows riddled with bullet holes.

"The federal investigators would take the lead on the case and the investigation would determine how the crime should be labeled," said United States attorney Bill Killian.

Chattanooga, one of Tennesse's largest cities, was unnerved by the attack as the Chattanooga State Community College posted an alert on its website that urged people on its main campus to remain inside and to close doors. Lee University, another university near Chattanooga, ordered a temporary lock down.

The mayor of Chattanooga, Andy Berke, later said a number of others had been wounded in the episode, including at least one police officer.

In the nearby suburb of Cleveland, Bradley Square Mall also said it had initiated a lock down, but the mall's management said that local media reports of gunfire were inaccurate.

"There have been no shots fired at Bradley Square Mall and the lockdown was 'a safety precaution'," the mall's Facebook page said.

In the meanwhile, the White House said that the president had been briefed by his national security staff on the Chattanooga shooting, and would continue to get updates as warranted.